By Quick answer: What questions should you ask in a user interview?
- Ask about the past — specific recent events.
- Avoid predictions — 'Would you use…?' misleads.
- Follow up — 'Why?' 'What happened next?'
- Listen — talk less than 20% of the time.
- Group by goal — context, problem, solutions, decisions, switching.
Key takeaways
- People are poor predictors of their own future behaviour.
- Stories about real past events reveal true priorities.
- Money and time already spent signal real pain.
- Silence after an answer often brings the best insight.
- Synthesise within 24 hours while memory is fresh.
Ask people whether they'd use your app and most will say yes. Then they won't. Rob Fitzpatrick's The Mom Test captures the fix: talk about their life, not your idea; ask about specifics in the past, not hypotheticals in the future1. These 50 questions follow that rule.
Context and background
- Tell me a bit about your role and what a normal day looks like.
- Where does [the activity] fit into your week?
- Who else is involved when you do this?
- What tools or apps do you use for it today?
- How long have you been doing it this way?
- What does a good week look like for this? A bad one?
The problem
- Tell me about the last time you [did the activity].
- What was the hardest part?
- Why was that hard?
- How often does that happen?
- What happens if it doesn't get solved?
- What did it cost you — time, money, stress?
- Walk me through exactly what you did, step by step.
- Where did you get stuck or slow down?
Current solutions
- What have you tried to solve this?
- What do you like about how you do it now?
- What's frustrating about it?
- Have you paid for anything to help with this? How much?
- Why did you choose that option?
- What made you stop using something you tried?
- If you could wave a magic wand, what would change? (Use sparingly.)
- Who else do you know who has this problem?
Decisions and buying
- How did you decide to start using [current tool]?
- Who else had a say?
- What almost stopped you?
- Where did you look for options?
- What would make you trust a new option?
- How do you usually pay for tools like this — UPI, card, company?
- What would you need to see before switching?
Switching and habits
- When did you last change how you do this? What triggered it?
- What would make switching worth the effort?
- What would you miss about your current way?
- What's the first thing you'd do with a new tool?
- How did you learn to use the tools you rely on now?
Product and usability (after discovery)
- What do you expect this screen to do?
- What would you tap first?
- What's unclear here?
- What were you expecting to happen just now?
- How would you describe this product to a friend?
- What's missing that you'd need?
- What would stop you from using this weekly?
- Which part felt slowest?
- If this disappeared tomorrow, what would you do instead?
Wrap-up
- Is there anything I should have asked but didn't?
- What's the most important thing we talked about today?
- Can I follow up if I have more questions?
- Would you try an early version and tell us what breaks?
- Who else should I talk to?
- Can you show me [the spreadsheet / chat / notebook] you mentioned?
- Anything else you'd like to add?
Questions to avoid
| Avoid | Why | Ask instead |
|---|---|---|
| "Would you use an app that…?" | Predictions are unreliable | "Tell me about the last time you…" |
| "Don't you hate it when…?" | Leading | "How do you feel about…?" |
| "How much would you pay?" | Hypothetical | "What have you paid for this before?" |
| "Is this a good idea?" | Invites politeness | "What would stop you from using this?" |
A simple script
- Intro (3 min) — thanks, purpose, consent to record, "there are no wrong answers".
- Context (5 min) — questions 1–6.
- Story (20 min) — questions 7–22; follow the most recent real example.
- Decisions (10 min) — questions 23–34.
- Wrap-up (5 min) — questions 44–50.
NN/g's guide covers planning and facilitation in depth2, and its research on sample sizes explains why a handful of interviews per segment reveals most patterns3. Turn your findings into personas and a journey map.
Key terms, defined
Discovery interview — research to understand problems before designing solutions. Leading question — a question that suggests an answer. Synthesis — finding patterns across interviews. Usability test — watching people use a product to find problems. Jobs to be done — the progress a person is trying to make.
Frequently asked questions
How many users should I interview?
Five to eight per segment often reveals the main patterns; continue until new interviews stop surprising you.
How long should a user interview be?
Thirty to sixty minutes. Shorter sessions rarely reach deeper stories.
What is The Mom Test?
A book by Rob Fitzpatrick about asking questions that even your mom can't lie to you about — focusing on people's lives and past behaviour rather than your idea.
Should I show my product in a discovery interview?
Not at first. Learn about the problem and current behaviour before showing anything, or you'll get polite feedback instead of truth.
Should I record interviews?
With permission, yes. Recordings and transcripts improve synthesis. Follow privacy laws and store recordings securely.
Should I pay interview participants?
Small thank-you incentives are common and fair. Avoid large incentives that attract people outside your target.
Sources
- Rob Fitzpatrick — The Mom Test
- Nielsen Norman Group — User interviews 101
- Nielsen Norman Group — Why 5 participants are okay in a qualitative study
- Checked October 23, 2026. Figures that change — fees, salaries, prices — are reviewed every six months; if something is out of date, tell us.
Where to go from here
- User persona template — turn interviews into personas
- Customer journey map template — map what you learned
- Templates & toolsUser persona template: what to include, two filled examples, and how to build personas from researchA user persona template with the fields that matter, two filled Indian app examples, and a step-by-step method to build personas from real research.
- How to make an appHow to validate an app idea before you write a single line of codeValidate an app idea in two weeks without code: problem interviews, demand signals, landing-page and fake-door tests, pre-sales and a concierge MVP.
- Career guidesHow to get a UX researcher job in 2027: choosing methods, interviews, usability tests, synthesis, mixed methods and research that changes decisionsHow to get a UX researcher job in 2027: choosing methods, interviews, usability testing, synthesis, mixed methods, AI in research, pay and a plan.
- Product managementJobs to be done: the framework, job statements, interview questions and Indian examplesThe jobs-to-be-done framework explained: the milkshake story, job statements, functional, emotional and social jobs, switch interviews and Indian examples.
- Product managementPRD template: how to write a product requirements document your team will readA PRD template for product teams: problem, goals, users, solution, requirements, metrics, risks and decisions — plus a one-page version and writing tips.
- Templates & toolsFree product roadmap template: the Now–Next–Later format, with examples and how to run itA free product roadmap template in the Now–Next–Later format, with a filled example for an app, how to tie items to outcomes, and mistakes to avoid.
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Evidence helps more.
A behavioral UX audit of your app or SaaS product: why users hesitate, stall and leave, and a prioritized fix list. Fixed price, 2–4 weeks.